The cast of The Last of Us season 2 is coming together. We know that Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will return as Joel and Ellie, hardened survivors of the zombie apocalypse who form a surrogate father-daughter bond. We also know who will be playing several important characters from The Last of Us Part II video game: Isabela Merced will play Ellie's love interest Dina while Kaitlyn Dever will play Abby, a character I'll say as little about as possible, because to breathe her name is to spoil everything.
And now, Variety reports that Jeffrey Wright will play the role of Isaac, “the quietly powerful leader of a large militia group who sought liberty but instead has become mired in an endless war against a surprisingly resourceful enemy.” Wright is a decorated actor who improves anything he's in; he's been nominated for multiple Emmys for his work on Westworld, plays the Watcher in the Marvel series What If...?, and is spectacular in HBO's adaptation of Angels in America.
Him getting cast as Isaac on The Last of Us TV show is especially cool, because he voiced the same character in the video game. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Merle Dandridge played Firefly leader Marlene in the games and played her again in live-action for the show. Neil Druckmann, the guy behind the video games, is intimately involved with the TV series as well, and he's doing right by the video game voice cast.
Video game developers come for Neil Druckmann after his comments about AI
OR IS HE? Lately, Neil Druckmann has come under fire for comments he made about how AI will be used to "revolutionize" how games are made. "AI will allow us to create nuanced dialogues and characters, expanding creative possibilities," he said in an interview. "However, it's crucial to precisely direct these tools to achieve the intended outcomes."
"AI is really going to revolutionize how content is being created, although it does bring up some ethical issues we need to address. With technologies like AI and the ability to do motion capture right from home, we’re reducing both costs and technical hurdles, opening the door for us to take on more adventurous projects and push the boundaries of storytelling in games. This evolution is truly empowering creators to bring their visions to life without the traditional obstacles."
The pessimistic way to read this is that by "traditional obstacles," Drunkmann means paying people to do things like act and write, instead using AI to cobble together a facsimile of performance and authorship using the real-life work of human beings who are not being compensated. I don't think you need to jump immediately to that interpretation, but I get why some people in the video game industry are taking issue with this interview.
For instance, here's what Dragon Age setting creator David Gaider had to say on X: "If you read the interview, it's pretty telling that his idea of storytelling is all about direction. The only thing preventing AI from improving on Naughty Dog's own writers, apparently, is the ability to provide it [with] nuanced direction. 'Some ethical issues' aside, evidently."
"This ignores the idea that collaboration is a thing," he continues. "That all those people who work under a director didn't get into games just to be paid less and worked – they are all storytellers at heart, and they love games. They're not an impediment to be cast aside for an AI Yes Man. I should add that I think Druckmann deserves his props. Good game direction and vision IS important, but believing it's the ONLY thing that's important is the road to becoming an auteur... and I guess I'd hope he'd know better than to look at AI as some kind of magic wand."
Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer simply posted an image of a guy cringing:
So we'll see how that all shakes down in the next few years. In the meanwhile, look out for The Last of Us season 2 to premiere sometime in 2025.
